Arkansas largest electric utility is warning that people who try to steal copper wires can die when trying to do so.

Entergy Arkansas said a suspect in the theft of 12,000 pounds of copper is facing charges in Columbia County, but the utility warns that a more-serious threat is electrocution. In a statement Tuesday, the company cited two instances of people in and around Arkansas being killed while trying to steal copper.

Line supervisor Blake Gore of Magnolia said copper thefts can leave the power grid unstable and in need of repairs that are passed on to customers.

He said that, in the last six months, there have been more than 100 copper thefts in a five-county area of southern Arkansas, and that repairs have cost more than $1 million.